This is the spectrum of a star that was created by a spectrograph and recorded by a CCD camera. Click HERE to see more information about this image. Even if all data was displayed on a monitor while observing, it would still be a disappointing view. In general the data that is received is saved in a raw form to be later calibrated and processed. For example, the image on the right was taken here at the Visitor Center Observatory on Kitt Peak.
Observatories are data collecting facilities.
Imagine an environmental biologist that was studying pollution in a local river. The scientist might visit the river with small glass vials and carefully collect samples of water. The water would be analyzed later in a laboratory to determine what was in it. The analogy can be applied to observational astronomy. Their main emphasis is to make sure the data they are collecting is of good quality.