Which are the best American universities for astronomy?

[Omega Force]

Hello.

I'm a French student and I'm planning to go to the United States for a graduate program in astronomy.

When I will arrive in the U.S. I will begin by the first year of graduate. Then I will pursue with a Ph.D. and some postdoctoral research.

I would like to know which are the best American universities/colleges for what I want to do.

Concerning what division of astronomy I am interested in:
I'm not interested in the conception of telescopes, instruments and other systems. I'm not interested in engineering. And I'm not interested in extremely theoretical astronomy either.
I'm interested in observational astronomy.

Regarding what subfields of astronomy I am interested in:
I'm not interested in extragalactic astronomy or cosmology.
I'm interested in planetary astronomy, exoplanetology, exobiology, SETI, stellar astronomy in the solar neighborhood.
I'm not interested in things that are less than 2 Astronomical Units or more than 70 light years away from us.

Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

[yeshuamo]

I can recommend the Lunar and Planetary Lab at the University of Arizona. U of A as a university is ranked #6 in the world for space science (US News World university ranking), and LPL should be right up your alley for what you've described. Other than that, I can offer only second-hand advice: Caltech, Ohio State, UT Austin, HYP.