The year 1741 in science and technology involved some significant events.
Astronomy
August 29 â Pluto (not known at the time) reached perihelion (closest approach to the Sun).
December 11 â a "Fire-ball" and explosion heard over southern England, about 11 a.m. "a countryman ... saw a flash of Lightning Before he heard the Noise ... The sound was double ... a Ball of Fire ... took its Course to the East ... over Westminster ... it divided into Two Heads [and] left a Train of Smoke ... which continued ascending for 20 minutes". The description is reminiscent of the Chelyabinsk meteor of 2013.
July 15 â Alexei Chirikov sights land in Southeast Alaska. He sends some men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska.