The Apophis asteroid will pass less than 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) from our planet’s surface – closer than the distance of geosynchronous satellites. During the approach, Apophis should be visible to observers in the Eastern Hemisphere with a brightness magnitude of 3.1 — no need for a telescope or binoculars. The asteroid is 370 meters wide. Were it to impact Earth, it would hit with 1200 megatons of force leaving a 5km impact crater.
