The distribution and optical characteristics of Antarctic polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) during the winter of 1992 as seen from the cryogenic limb array etalon spectrometer (CLAES) on the NASA Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) are presented. The CLAES measurements are the first extensive stratospheric aerosol observations through much of the Antarctic polar night. An analysis of the vertical and areal distribution using the aerosol absorption coefficient measured at 780 cm-1 is presented, including a polar map showing the frequency of PSC occurrence during the two CLAES Antarctic viewing periods June 11 to July 10 and August 16 to September 18. The PSC seasonal evolution from CLAES is compared with a climatology based on the Stratospheric Aerosol Measurements II (SAM II) system. The frequency of PSC occurrence in the CLAES data sampled at latitudes similar to those observed with SAM II shows general agreement with the climatology. Some obvious differences between details of the PSC evolution seen by CLAES and the climatology are investigated with 1992 SAM II aerosol extinction data and shown to be due to intra-annual variations specific to 1992, which appear in both data sets.¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union