  We report the first measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry A_PV in the
elastic scattering of polarized electrons from 208Pb. A_PV is sensitive to the
radius of the neutron distribution (Rn). The result A_PV = 0.656 \pm 0.060
(stat) \pm 0.014 (syst) ppm corresponds to a difference between the radii of
the neutron and proton distributions Rn - Rp = 0.33 +0.16 -0.18 fm and provides
the first electroweak observation of the neutron skin which is expected in a
heavy, neutron-rich nucleus.
