Lots of hype on the net about this one  :)
but I looked it up in Astronomy magazine chatroom.. they sent me to:
http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/
seems that in August Elenin will only be visible from the southern hemisphere.
Its closest approach is about a month later.......It will have a brightness of about 5.9 magnitude, which will be a dim star to the unaided eye.  the comet  will have a diameter of 6 point 3 minutes of arc...... easily visible with a pair of binoculars, a quite nice featureless blob :) in a small telescope........
 
6 minutes of arc is 1/10th of a degree.....  hardly causing chaos in the streets   :)
.......
 
not like the 70AD and 1910
 comet which was a flaming sword across the sky..........
 
Lewis  Brackett