Original: Visibility from Earth On January 31, 2012 Eros is expected to pass Earth at 0.179 astronomical units (16.6 million miles), about 70 times the distance to the moon, with a visual magnitude of +8.5.
Simplified: On January 31, 2012, Eros is expected to pass Earth at 0.1787 astronomical units (16.6 million miles) with a visual magnitude of +8.1.