Temporal sequence of integrated (along the z-axis, with a 9° tilt) electron density measurements showing the evolution of the interpenetration of two magnetized shocks, at 6 ns (a), 11 ns (b), 13 ns (c), and 16 ns (d), after the main laser pulses hit the targets. The aperture of the magnetic coil structure restrained the passage of the optical probe, diminishing slightly the field of view (FoV) in a–d. (e) shows the lineout of the integrated electron density at 11 ns (blue solid line) and at 16 ns (red dashed line), along the lines shown on the relative map – (b) and (d), respectively; the location of the targets at 9 mm distance from each other is also shown, while the gray dashed areas represents the zones out of the FoV. Before the interpenetration of the two plasma flows, a shock front and a piston develop out of each target, as indicated by the two arrows in (b) and (e): the dotted blue arrow points at the left-drifting piston and the solid green arrow at the left-drifting shock front. When the two shocks collide, the density has a spike at the meeting point at around 3.5 mm in (e).