The images of the Sun recently obtained by the Daniel K. Inouye Telescope are stunning, but you don’t need a 4.24-meter telescope to see the physics first-hand.

Plasma heats within the Sun, becomes less dense, then rises to the Sun's surface. Once there, it cools, gets dense, and sinks again. The gorgeous “caramel popcorn” appearance is a result of the plasma becoming ordered into cells the size of Texas. The edges of these cells are defined by dark lines of sinking plasma. This is described by Rayleigh-Benard convection, which tells how the size of these regions depend on the properties like the temperature, density, and viscosity of the plasma, and how heat transfers through it.  

The same sort of convection that happens in your kitchen. You can observe this effect by mixing food coloring and dish soap, then placing it in a pan on the stove. Of course, your convection cells will be a bit smaller than those on the surface of the Sun!