What fundamental insight do scientists gain from studying meteorites regarding the age of the solar system?

Direct physical evidence about the conditions present during formation over four and a half billion years ago

The immense scientific value of meteorites stems from their nature as pristine physical samples that have been floating in space, essentially untouched by terrestrial weathering or geological processes, for extremely long periods. By analyzing their elemental ratios, internal structures, and trapped materials, researchers can reconstruct the initial conditions—the chemistry and physics—that governed the earliest stages of our solar system's development. This chronological information places their origin window at approximately four and a half billion years ago, offering insights unobtainable through purely remote observational techniques.